A group of Eugene Catholics is inviting people to experience the Lord’s healing love. A charismatic healing Mass is set for Friday, Oct. 27, 7 p.m. at St. Mary Church in Eugene, 1062 Charnelton St. Celebrants will be Auxiliary Bishop Peter Smith and Fathers Ron Nelson, Edgar Rivera and Bryce McProud.

Mike Buck, an active member of St. Ignatius Parish in Southeast Portland, is a cradle Catholic. He attended Jesuit High and Gonzaga University. Buck, 70, gladly re-chooses Catholicism each day, citing how it helps him live life well, and to the fullest. He spent 30 years with his wife running Gubanc’s Restaurant in Lake Grove. They have turned management over to their son and gotten more involved in faith life.

Two seminarians studying in Rome to become priests of the Archdiocese of Portland will be ordained deacons the morning of Sept. 28 in St. Peter's Basilica. Bishop James Checchio of Metuchen, New Jersey, will ordain Peter Julia and Richard LeFaivre II along with more than 40 other students from the Pontifical North American College. That’s the school where U.S. bishops send seminarians to experience Rome and get a sense of the universal church.

“A Year of Prayer for our Priests” is a ministry of the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women. We share the joy of this devotion with all Oregon Catholics. A day each month is set aside to pray for the names of priests serving in the Archdiocese of Portland. Please remember them and all priests, deacons and religious in your daily prayers.

This year the U.S. Bishops have chosen Be Not Afraid
as the 2017-2018 Respect Life Program. When we hear these words, how
can we not remember with affection Pope St. John Paul II, who vigorously
exhorted and encouraged us with these words, so often found in
Scripture, to keep our hearts open to Christ?

“My God but he is ugly, the Padre!” whispers one old woman to another in
Willa Cather’s classic novel “Death Comes for the Archbishop.” “He must
be very holy. And did you see the great wart he has on his chin? ... Somebody ought to tell him about the holy mud at Chimayó. That mud might dry it up.”

Q — Many localities are in the process of decriminalizing the recreational use of marijuana. What is the church’s view? Is using pot recreationally the same thing morally as having a drink? Is it OK in moderation? (Virginia)

CASTLE ROCK, Washington — A hot summer afternoon here at what will
become the Sacred Heart Monastery, one of only two Maronite Catholic
monasteries in the United States, feels a world away from Portland.

Valerie Chapman remembers standing in her childhood kitchen, listening
to her mother explaining the marvels of nuclear energy. She knows the
memory was an early one because of the height of the countertops.

ST. BENEDICT — The Benedictine community of Mount Angel Abbey was joined on the morning of Aug. 4 by a church full of worshippers who came to celebrate the ordination of a monk — John Vianney Le.Archbishop Alexander Sample was the main celebrant with Abbot Jeremy Driscoll of Mount Angel as principal concelebrant.

“A Year of Prayer for our Priests” is a ministry of the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women. We share the joy of this devotion with all Oregon Catholics. A day each month is set aside to pray for the names of priests serving in the Archdiocese of Portland. Please remember them and all priests, deacons and religious in your daily prayers.

MOUNT ANGEL — The Benedictine Sisters of Mount Angel are moving their spiritual ministry for visitors to historic Queen of Angels Monastery and its modern hospitality center. The retreat site had been in a former college building adjacent to the monastery, which was founded in the 1880s.

BEAVERTON — Dying to self and living for Christ filled the thoughts and hearts of 10 women from across North America during a retreat for consecrated virgins. The group of church-recognized virgins gathered at Our Lady of Peace Retreat Center July 20-23.Father Jeff Eirvin, vocations director for the Archdiocese of Portland, spoke about the virgins’ identity, relationships and mission in the church. The virgins themselves shared vocation stories. Archbishop John Vlazny, retired head of the archdiocese, celebrated Mass and heard confessions during the retreat and preached on the mystery of the Eucharist.

An Oregon woman recently professed vows as a Franciscan sister. Sister Emily Brabham is the daughter of Linda and Dale Brabham of Sherwood. She professed vows of poverty, chastity and obedience during a July 29 Mass at Prince of Peace Parish in Clinton, Iowa.

ASTON, Pennsylvania — The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, who have a long history in Oregon, have voted to commit themselves to ecological education and concrete actions to preserve the environment. During a June assembly, the sisters said they wanted to answer the call to defend creation issued by Pope Francis in his encyclical “Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home.”

While visiting the Vatican’s library and secret archives for research, I was invited to accompany Father Virgil Funk to a conference on international liturgical music. Father Funk is president emeritus of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, or NPM. The Archdiocese of Portland has an active chapter of NPM for all diocesan musicians, which meets four times a year. It was fascinating to hear global music leaders speak about the nature of music used to celebrate throughout the world. However, for a non-musician, two events outshone seminar presentations: vespers in the Sistine Chapel and greeting Pope Francis.

Nine Sisters of Providence will mark their jubilees Saturday, Sept. 9, at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Seattle at 10:30 a.m. Among them will be three with ties to Oregon: Sisters Maryann Bochsler and Mary Fox, celebrating 70 years of religious life, and Sister Maribeth Carson, celebrating 25.

Father Jeff Eirvin, director of vocations for the Archdiocese of Portland, will give a talk about walking 142 miles on the Camino de Santiago (Way of the St. James) Wednesday, Aug. 16, after a 7 p.m. Mass for vocations at Our Lady of the Lake Church in Lake Oswego.

Father Eirvin made the walk with his father, Jeff Eirvin Sr., June 29 – July 8 for an increase of vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life. They took their backpacks and set out across the Portuguese Way portion of the pilgrimage route, which passes through several countries.

An outdoor Mass and reflection honoring the special role of grandparents will be held at the Grotto plaza July 26 at 7 p.m. The Summer Twilight Retreat is an invitation to reflect on the lives of Sts. Anne and Joachim, the parents of Mary and grandparents of Jesus, pray for their intercession and celebrate the Eucharist with the Servite community.

The Benedictine Sisters of Queen of Angels Monastery in Mount Angel are hosting an opportunity for the community to learn more about being an oblate. They’ll address what oblates are, what the word means, and what oblates do, among other questions.

“A Year of Prayer for our Priests” is a ministry of the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women. We share the joy of this devotion with all Oregon Catholics. A day each month is set aside to pray for the names of priests serving in the Archdiocese of Portland. Please remember them and all priests, deacons and religious in your daily prayers.

CENTRAL POINT — An eighth-grader from Shepherd of the Valley Parish here proved that she’s not only smart, but also might be one of the most zealous altar servers in the nation.

Colette Henry, who will attend Hedrick Middle School in Medford in the fall, was chosen to represent the Pacific Northwest at a June youth leadership conference sponsored by the White House. Her grades and community service won her the honor.

I guess I have a small confession to make. I went to the recent Convocation of Catholic Leaders held in Orlando, Florida, with very low expectations. I was unsure and somewhat skeptical about the intent and expected outcome of the event. I was pleasantly surprised, as was our local delegation.

MOUNT ANGEL — The Holy League Men’s Ministry and Oregon Knights of Columbus will hold their second Holy League Catholic Men’s Conference October 20 ­– 21 at the Mount Angel Festhalle. The theme for the year’s conference is: “100th Anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima vs. 100 years of Communism, 300 years of Freemasonry and 500 years of the Protestant Revolt.”

After walking into the Portland State University Newman Center house, Sister Teresa Harrell immediately goes to the adoration chapel to say hello to Jesus. Her housemate, visiting priests and some students follow suit.

Communication is important in Sister Harrell’s relationship with God. That’s one of the reasons she attends Mass daily. Not going would be like going a day without talking to a spouse, she says.

A delegation from the Archdiocese of Portland traveled to Orlando, Florida, July 1-4 to help devise ways to best reflect the church’s missionary call in today’s world.

Part of the group of 3,000 at the “Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in America” were Archbishop Alexander Sample; Auxiliary Bishop Peter Smith; Deacon Kevin Welch, director of pastoral ministries; Todd Cooper, special assistant to the archbishop; Jason Kidd, director of the Office of Marriage and Family Life; Rolando Moreno, director of the Office of Catechesis and Faith Formation; and Clint Bentz, chair of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council.

Q. I am a Catholic priest who has long been puzzled by Leviticus 20:9-21. In that passage, God gives Moses a long list of people who should be put to death: those who curse their parents, adulterers, homosexuals and many others.

In my own mind, God could not have given this order for two reasons: First, he would have been violating his own Fifth Commandment, which says “You shall not kill”; and secondly, these offenses do not deserve the death penalty.

NEWPORT — The weekend after Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday, more than 150 college students representing 18 different schools gathered here for the first GOFISH Getaway. The social retreat was designed to bring together young Catholics from across Oregon in celebration of Easter.

“A Year of Prayer for our Priests” is a ministry of the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women. We share the joy of this devotion with all Oregon Catholics. A day each month is set aside to pray for the names of priests serving in the Archdiocese of Portland. Please remember them and all priests, deacons and religious in your daily prayers.

MOUNT ANGEL — In Caroline Lindstedt’s experience, patients approaching the end of their lives often talk about travel. Trains to be boarded, airplanes to be caught, luggage to be packed or journeys to be taken.

Lindstedt has a job that most people would find difficult. “Your job must be so hard. How can you do it?” It’s a question she often hears. Her answer is simple.

Darren Cools grew up hearing that tattoos were mortally sinful. And he grew into adulthood never having gotten a tattoo. Then he met the woman who would eventually become his wife. She had a tattoo of the Trinity knot, a Celtic symbol representing the Holy Trinity, on her back. One of his high school friends got a tattoo of the Holy Spirit. His perspective began to change. Three years ago, as a 32-year-old man, he got his first tattoo.

“I decided I wanted a Catholic tattoo as a reminder to myself and as a silent witness,” says Cools.

“A Year of Prayer for our Priests” is a ministry of the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women. We share the joy of this devotion with all Oregon Catholics. A day each month is set aside to pray for the names of priests serving in the Archdiocese of Portland. Please remember them and all priests, deacons and religious in your daily prayers.

SEASIDE — It’s a beautiful day at Our Lady of Victory Parish, just blocks from the sandy Oregon coastline. Holy Spirit Father Joseph Barita is joyful as he talks about his time in Oregon. He likes the weather and the wonderful people. The priest came to the Archdiocese of Portland in 2004, sent from Tanzania by his religious order to minister in parishes here.

Father Barita has served as the pastor at St. Birgitta Parish in Portland, St. Frederic Parish in St. Helens and as parochial vicar at St. Pius X Parish in Portland. Before coming to Our Lady of Victory, he was helping build a spiritual center in Usa River, Tanzania.